Protect your family history with proper backups. Follow this step-by-step guide to compact and back up your Family Tree Maker files.
Protect Your Trees
Whether you are getting ready to update your copy of Family Tree Maker or using a new synching technology like FamilySync® for the first time, make sure your main tree is protected with a full, restorable copy.
All Users Should Compact and Save
You should compact and save your main tree manually into a location other than your computer. Here's how:
1
Compact Your File
- Open your tree, then select Compact File from the Tools menu.
- In the window that appears, click Compact.
- Click OK when compacting is successful.
2
Back Up Your File
- Select Backup from the File menu.
- Check boxes to include media files and historical events.
- If linked with Ancestry, check "Allow restored file to resume syncing".
- Click Backup and then OK when complete.
3
Move to a Safe Place
- Using File Explorer (Windows) or Finder (macOS), locate your backup file.
- Connect an external drive or cloud storage like Dropbox.
- Copy the backup file to the external drive or cloud storage.
Compacting a File in FTM 2017, 2019 and 2024
As you add, delete, move, and edit records in your tree file, the database may need periodic maintenance. The Compact File tool helps you perform that maintenance, resulting in a smaller and smoother-running tree file.
Compacting may take several minutes, depending on the size of your tree.
How to compact a file:
- Choose Compact File from the Tools menu.
- If no tree is open, navigate to the file and click Open.
- Make sure Perform extended analysis is checked.
- Click the Compact button.
- Once complete, click OK.
Mac Instructions
- Open your tree and choose File > Backup.
- Type a new name if needed.
- Select backup location.
- Check Media files and Historical events.
- Check Allow restored file to resume syncing.
- Click Backup.
Windows Instructions
- Open your tree and click File > Backup.
- Type a new name if needed.
- Select backup location.
- Check Media files and Historical events.
- Check Allow restored file to resume syncing.
- Click Backup.
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